الفهرس 
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Abstract
The present study was carried out to illustrate the morphogenesis of the kidney of the rabbit with light microscope in addition to the electron microscope during the fetal and postnatal stages of development.
For the light microscopic examination, Embryos, fetuses, newborn and adult V-line white rabbits from E15 to two month were obtained from the farm of Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University, Egypt. The rabbits were housed in separate cages with 12 hour light/12 hour dark cycles and allowed free access to water and rations. The age of fetuses and rabbits was estimated according to the records of the farm. Prenatally, the day of mating was considered the day one of embryonic life while the day of delivery was considered the day one of postnatal life. The samples were processed (dehydration, clearing and paraffin embedding). Then the blocks were cut at 3-7 µm thickness and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H and E), Gomori’s reticulin method, Masson’s trichrome technique, Periodic Acid Schiff reaction (PAS) and combination of PAS and Alcian Blue (AB) stain.
For scanning and transmission electron microscopic examination, samples from kidney of rabbit fetus at E19, E25, E30, age one-week, two-weeks and two-month old. Samples were collected and processed for electron microscopic examination using Joel electron microscope in Faculty of Science, Alexandria University.
The result clarified that, the development of the kidney of rabbit embryos and fetuses was concentrated at the early stages. At E15, large mesonephros, occupied a great part of abdominal cavity of rabbit embryo, and undifferentiated metanephros were noticed. At E19 metanephros became differentiated into cortex and medulla and the initiation of nephron-forming stage. Additionally at this stage, the caudal series of mesonephros still detected but in degenerated atrophied structure.
The histogenesis of the mesonephros had been completed early during fetal life while its degeneration, together with the development of metanephros, began at the middle of gestation period and completed by the end of it.
Shortly before birth at E30 the kidney demonstrated large collecting ducts with well developed renal corpuscles, well differentiated proximal and distal convoluted tubules, with apparently detected loop of Henle. Shortly after birth rabbit kidney still showed morphogenesis. The adult form of histological structure of rabbit kidney is reached postnatally by the end of the second week. By the age of two-months old, the kidney of rabbit with mature histological structure of the renal parenchyma was documented.
In conclusion, the development of rabbit kidneys occurred mainly during the prenatal period while their histological maturity occurred from two to three weeks after birth. The present findings were discussed with previous publications.